Vitebsk, 31 October /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. A record snow depth for all years of meteorological observation was recorded in Vitebsk on 31 October, Lyudmila Borodenok, lead engineer-forecaster at the Vitebsk Regional Centre for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, told a BELTA correspondent. Heavy snowfalls that occurred in the region in the past few days, and were particularly intense on 30 October, were brought by a southern cyclone. As a result, as of the morning of 31 October, the snow cover depth increased by an average of 6-20 cm, reaching 12-26 cm. In the regional centre, today's date set a new record for snow cover depth for all years of meteorological observation: it reached 18 cm, exceeding the measurement result of 1966 by 11 cm. In terms of regions, the greatest snow depth was recorded in Lepel (26 cm) and Polotsk (20 cm), and the lowest, 4 cm, in Sharkovshchina. The treacherous weather was not only underestimated by motorists, whose accidents due to weather conditions have become more frequent in recent days, but also by pedestrians. Thus, from 30 October to the morning of 31 October, more than 190 people sought medical attention at the trauma centre of the Vitebsk City Emergency Clinical Hospital with injuries, which is twice the usual number of visits. The majority of cases involved fractures of arms and legs, and injuries to knee and ankle ligaments. In this regard, doctors recommend everyone to be more careful and choose footwear and clothing appropriate for the weather. According to forecasters, on 1 November, the weather in the region will begin to change towards autumn. Heavy precipitation in the form of wet snow, turning into rain, is expected in Vitebsk on Friday. -0-

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